Her Return, His Regret by Natie

Chapter 47~ The lucky lady.

Tflew by in the blink of an eye and the night of the launch party finally arrived.

The hall at one of the biggest hotels in the city was decorated in golds and dark greens. Chandeliers with dangling crystals hang from the ceiling, casting a mesmerising golden glow over the place.

Lora smiled at the man beside her and hooked her arm to his when they arrived at the venue. The moment the two of them stepped through the double golden doors, silence fell over the place and all eyes turned towards them. "I think Miss L just made a grand entrance," Jason remarked as he led Lora inside.

Almost everyone was looking at Lora in awe. She looked so breath-taking in the one-shoulder sapphire gown she wore that fit her like a glove. It had a thigh-high split with a corset bodice, shaping her figure.

Her hair was styled in a slick low bun, her face glowing with light makeup and a daring cherry red lipstick.

People couldn't help but greet and compliment Lora about her work.

"Miss L, I'm so honoured to meet you tonight. You're the most talented designer in our city," someone said, eyes sparkling in admiration. "I'm a fan of your work." "Thank you so much," Lora replied politely, smiling as they made their way through the crowd.

"Good evening, Miss L, Mr Anderson, you two make a good match," another one said when he stopped Lora and Jason to greet them.

Lora smiled warmly and Jason replied, "Thank you, Mr Carson. I'm the happiest man to have Miss L as my woman and partner tonight." He placed his hand on the small of Lora's back and led her to their table. As they proceeded, Lora felt a burning gaze on her. She whipped around and saw Ryan standing on the other side of the room, his eyes fixed intently on her. He looked smouldering in an all-black suit. His gorgeous dark locks were styled into a slight quiff, enhancing his handsomeness.

Lora saw a flicker of anger in Ryan's eyes as he stared at her. However, she gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement and returned her attention to Jason Meanwhile, Ryan almost ground his teeth to dust when Lora ignored him. A wave of intense jealousy rushed through him. The moment he saw Lora, he couldn't take his eyes off of her and he hated how comfortable she was around Jason.

His eyes flashed when he saw Jason's hand on Lora's lower back. He wanted to walk over and rip that hand away from her body. How dare this man touch her openly like this? What happened to giving someone space so they could breathe? Ryan was going crazy with jealousy. Jason was touching Lora like she belonged to him or something and it irked Ryan so much.

At the stime, Ivy who was seated next to Ryan in her wheelchair followed his gaze and saw what he had been looking at for stnow.

Anger and fierce jealousy surged through her when she saw him looking at Lora with a longing gaze.

'So, I'm just a substitute,' she said in her mind, a lightbulb going off in her head.

When Ryan agreed to bring her to the party as his plus one, Ivy was happy that he still loved her regardless of how cold he had been towards her lately.

However, after seeing how Ryan changed when Lora entered the hall, Ivy realised she was just a replacement. It didn't matter if it was Lora or Larisa... Ivy was always a substitute.

The woman Ryan wanted by his side was Lora.

Ivy gripped the arms of her wheelchair tightly, anger and jealousy rippling through her like a tidal wave. She glanced at Ryan and her heart clenched, seeing his attention entirely on Lora as she chatted and laughed with Jason on the other side of the room. "Ryan..." Ivy called out to get Ryan's attention away from Lora. She asked, "Do you think I would also look as beautiful as Lora if I could walk? I do wear pretty dresses and heels but no one can see them since I'm stuck in a wheelchair." Ryan was brought back to the present at Ivy's words. He tore his gaze away from Lora to look down at Ivy who sat by his side.

His eyebrows creased and when he saw the sadness in Ivy's eyes, guilt twisted in his chest. He sighed and forced a smile before replying, "Ivy, you're beautiful in any form. Whether you're in a wheelchair or not, you're perfect." Ivy smiled, her heart calming down when she successfully caught his attention. She nodded and said, "As long as you think ofthat way, I'll have confidence in myself." Suddenly, the host walked to the stage and announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcto the LAN's Luxurious Jewelry launch party. We are gathered today to celebrate the official launch of Mr Ryan Kingsley's new jewelry company and also, to see the beautiful jewelry collection made from the legendary talented designer, Miss L's designs." He went on to make sopening remarks and the audience listened quietly. When he was done, he smiled at the crowd and said, "Now is the tall the ladies have been waiting for. I say this because f for the opening dance, Mr Kingsley will randomly choose one lucky lady from the audience to have the first dance with him." Gasps of surprise echoed around the hall. Sof the ladies wished Ryan would choose them as his dance partner. It would be an honour to dance with the prince-like billionaire.

The host waited for the excited murmurs to quiet down and continued, "Each of the invitation cards is numbered and those that were given to ladies have been written on small cards and put in this big bowl." He picked up a transparent bowl and showed it to the crowd before saying, "Our CEO will draw one card and if that card matches the number on your invitation card, then that means you've won a chance to be Cinderella tonight." A murmur of laughter echoed through the hall. While sladies eagerly glanced at the numbers on their cards, praying to be chosen, Lora frowned.

She watched as Ryan smiled at the crowd, his eyes briefly falling on her before he walked towards the stage and drew one card from the bowl. Lora suddenly felt a sense of unease and she clenched her invitation card tightly, her heart racing rapidly for sreason. Under everyone's gaze, Ryan glanced at his card and handed it over to the host.

The host grinned and announced, "The number on the card is..." Silence fell over the hall as the ladies waited with bated breath. Everyone would kill to have a chance to dance with Ryan Kingsley. "Number 5!"

"Wow, who's the lucky lady?" One of the ladies asked, looking at the other was lucky ladies' cards to see who wa enough to be selected. "Number 5, please step forward. You won yourself a dance with the CEO!" The host announced again. Everyone looked around, wondering who that woman may be.

Suddenly, Jason glanced at the card in Lora's hand. He looked at her and said, "Lora, that seems to be the number on your card." Lora looked down at her card and her breath hitched. Natie Author Thank you for reading.

3